$50

Again this year we offer photographers the opportunity to hone their skills and improve their bird and nature photos.  We start with a photography workshop and follow it with a trip to the Pine Island rookery where you can practice what you have learned.

Photo Workshop – 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM

Photo Shoot – 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM

The first of our two trips to Pine Island is dedicated to photography. There is a birding trip to this location on Sunday, April 13. We suggest that you attend the Photo Workshop (event # 3) immediately before this trip to learn tips and techniques from Mark LaGrange, one of our well-known local photographers. After the workshop, Mark LaGrange and several of our better local photographers will join you on this photo shoot to help you get good shots.

Pine Island, a 3,000-acre wildlife preserve, offers a unique photographic opportunity. Just east of the Tchefuncte River between Madisonville and Ponchatoula, Pine Island is a naturalist’s dream-come-true with thousands of roosting birds and numerous alligators.

Pine Island is the legacy of a logging operation once located in Madisonville. Cypress logging ceased at Pine Island nearly a century ago. Since then, the owners have assured that nature take precedence in the area and maintained Pine Island as a wildlife refuge. Today the private property is closed to the public, but birding photographers with the Great Louisiana BirdFest are offered a rare glimpse into this pristine habitat.

You will drive through pines and mixed hardwoods, ending at the 300-acre man-made lake housing one of the south’s largest rookeries. The nests are far enough from the levee that you need a long lens and possibly a tripod to get the best shots. We suggest that you bring the longest lens you have. We also suggest fine grain film so that you can crop and enlarge your shots without losing image quality. If you do not have as long a lens as you might like, the photographers, who will be assisting with advice and guidance, may let you mount your camera body (if compatible) to their lens for a little while during the trip so you can really zoom in to get an unforgettable shot.

As dusk settles over the swamp, thousands of birds, including egrets, herons, ibis, cormorants, Anhinga and more fly in for an evening’s rest. From the levee, the sight of these incoming birds is truly spectacular. The photography session will remain at the rookery until just after sunset, allowing you to capture this wonderful event on film.

Easy Walk

Pied-billed Grebe, Bald Eagle